The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to solicit applications to accelerate development, testing and implementation of evidence-based interventionsthat are culturally and linguistically appropriate for NIH-designated health disparity populations[1] (HDPs)to mitigate disparities in provision of care and treatment decisions, reduce susceptibility to chronic pain and improve patient outcomes. Applications are encouraged for studies that utilize evidence-based strategies that mitigate: 1) the effects of bias, stigma and discrimination at multiple levels, and 2) socioeconomic, environmental and other barriers to quality pain assessment, treatment and management are desired outcomes of this initiative. Strategies to increase successful HDP patient engagement and bolster inclusion to enhance better pain management outcomes are also desired.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) invites research projects that seek to explain the underlying mechanisms, processes, and trajectories of social relationships and how these factors affect outcomes in human health, illness, recovery, and overall wellbeing. Types of projects submitted under this FOA include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical and/or behavioral outcomes in humans to understand fundamental aspects of phenomena related to social connectedness and isolatedness. NIH considers such studies as prospective basic science studies involving human participants that meet the NIH definition of basic research and fall within the NIH definition of clinical trials (see, e.g., NOT-OD-19-024) Types of studies that should submit under this FOA include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical or behavioral outcomes in humans for the purpose of understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific application towards processes or products in mind. Applications proposing studies that include but not limited to model animal research or observational studies involving humans should submit under the companion Clinical Trials Not Allowed version of this FOA.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) invites research projects that seek to model the underlying mechanisms, processes, and trajectories of social relationships and how these factors affect outcomes in health, illness, recovery, and overall wellbeing. Both animal and human subjects research projects are welcome. Researchers proposing basic science experimental studies involving human participants should consider the companion FOA TEMP-14931 "Research on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness and Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, and Recovery (R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)".

NINDS is issuing this Notice of Special Interest to encourage the submission of applications focused on the development and validation of biomarkers for functional neurological disorders (FND). FND are a complex and heterogeneous group of neuropsychiatric syndromes. They are characterized by symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory function and frequently have comorbid medical, neurological, and psychiatric disorders. Although patients with FND represent the second commonest category of referrals to neurology outpatient clinics after headache, management is complex and requires interdisciplinary approaches. The high prevalence of FND, the disability caused by symptoms, high cost in healthcare utilization and loss of productivity points to an important opportunity for development of effective therapeutic interventions. This common, disabling, and costly group of conditions sits at the intersection of neurology and psychiatry. In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) the term functional is used as the primary descriptor in the term for this group of conditions, although the term conversion disorder is still accepted as an alternative expression that acknowledges unconscious processes in patients, though it emphasizes the implicit inference of causative psychological stressors, which are not always present or may not be readily identifiable. Diagnostic criteria for FND have been proposed, but are not universally accepted, and have varying rates of interrater reliability, depending on the symptom presentation (high for non-epileptic psychogenic seizures; poor for other FND). For this reason, diagnosis remains very challenging. Recent recommendations suggest that diagnosis should be based on positive clinical findings and supported, when necessary, by laboratory or ancillary investigation findings. Certain FND subtypes are more difficult to correctly diagnose than others.